The main things to watch this year
Predicting the future of international relations is always a risky endeavor. History shows that even the most confident forecasts can fall flat. For instance, the last Pentagon propaganda pamphlet on 'Soviet Military Power' was published in 1991 – the year the USSR ceased to ...
... (or polycentric) world order
[
1
] was first coined by Academician Yevgeny Primakov in 1996 [Primakov 1996]. Like everything new, it was not immediately accepted, but ultimately became a significant contribution to both domestic and world theory of international relations, offering a compelling alternative to Western approaches, particularly the one proposed in Samuel Huntington’s
The Clash of Civilizations
[Huntington 1993]. It informed the idea of trilateral cooperation between Russia, China ...
... number of one’s enemies while multiplying one’s number of friends is a basic principle of diplomacy that has existed for centuries. The simplicity of the principle itself is more than compensated by the complexity of its practical implementation. In international relations, the price of friendship may be too high, limiting freedom of manoeuvre, while open hostility brings existing contradictions to the limit, radically resolving them in favour of one side or another.
Advising a diplomat to expand ...
The new theory of success proposed by the US Space Force is an attempt to justify the force component in space exploration. Obviously, these plans have to be judged not only as a new Manhattan project, but also as a military-economic support for the establishment of a new world order
In February 2023, the United States presented a roadmap for the practical re-assessement of modern deterrence vis-a-vis geostrategic adversaries. Official statements and decisions coming from Washington at the turn...
RIAC and Synergia Foundation Report No. 92 / 2024
RIAC and Synergia Foundation Report No. 92 / 2024
Russia — India relations represent an important venue of the emerging multipolar world order. Moscow and New Delhi share a common history, which serves as a basis for the strategic partnership. The two do not hesitate to seize the opportunities of recent years to qualitatively develop bilateral dialogue. The following report analyzes the state of affairs in major Russian-Indian spheres of practical...
The conflict in Libya continues to be a key issue for North Africa
The international community’s attention towards the Libyan crisis has diminished in recent times. The situation in Libya has lost its formative role in influencing the relations between the countries in the region. However, the conflict in Libya continues to be a key issue for North Africa.
Denis Mirgorod:
Libya Interregnum
The prospects of a political settlement in the Libyan conflict remains unclear and the root causes for the...
In the modern world, only two countries can be distinguished which combine both significant material potential and their own political philosophy: the US and China
In the modern science of international relations, defining the essential features of modern superpowers has remained a bone of contention. What makes a true superpower stand above the rest? Is there a universal set of traits that distinguishes a few leaders from many outsiders?...
To impact events, it is necessary to understand their logic, and this is where a theory steps in
“There is nothing more practical than a good theory.” [
1
] This attitude defined academic inquiry into international relations since the mid-twentieth century. Faculty surveys as well as bibliometric indicators suggest that generalized explanations provide the greatest recognition for a scholar within the community.
Theorists top the lists of researchers
...
Will there be a chain reaction of quagmires with the international order collapsing in the end?
It doesn’t take one to be a Nostradamus to predict the general trends in international affairs for 2023 with certainty. This year will be difficult, turbulent and dangerous for all the actors in global politics. In what particular ways, though? What risks are most likely to transpire? Looking back on a multitude of challenging problems we inherited from 2022, we’ll try to highlight those that could be...
An Unwritten Future offers a fresh reassessment of classical realism, an enduring approach to understanding crucial events in the international political arena
An Unwritten Future offers a fresh reassessment of classical realism, an enduring approach to understanding crucial events in the international political arena. Jonathan Kirshner identifies the fundamental flaws of classical realism’s would-be successors and shows how this older, more nuanced and sophisticated method for studying world politics...